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First Impression: A wide spread and recognizable genus from many of those who walk around in the woodlands everywhere from Canada to the Mid-West into the south eastern United States.

Habitat & Hardiness: It is native to woodland openings, meadows, prairies, limestone glades and cleared areas including roadsides from Newfoundland to Alberta, south to Georgia, Tennessee and Oklahoma. Being winter hardy in USDA zones 4-9 makes Fragaria virginiana adaptable to a wide variety of cool climates.

Plant Description: Fragaria virginiana is a herbaceous, flowering, perennial and a member of the Fragaria genus, a large collection on plants producing edible fruit. The plant has a low profile of about 5 inches by 2 feet wide and spreads by runners making it useful as a groundcover as well as a provider of edible fruit. It can also be used as erosion control holding soil on slopes. The plant likes the cooler weather of the spring and fall while not doing well in the summer heat.

Plants flower in spring followed by the fruit, but fruit production can be affected by the prevailing temperatures. The mature fruit being red and only 1/2″ in size gives the appearance of a strawberry but have a sweet tart flavor. Fragaria spread indefinitely by runners that root as they sprawl along the ground and will form large colonies over time.

Cultural & Maintenance Needs: Fragaria virginiana are easily grown in fertile, moist to dry, well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade. Prefers organically rich, sandy loams. This is a cool-season perennial that grows best in spring and fall. After setting fruit, plants may slow down or go dormant in hot summer months. Plants flower reliably in spring, but the subsequent appearance of fruit is dependent upon climatic conditions.

Landscape Uses: This species of Fragaria like many of the others serves as a ground cover or border plant, woodland gardens and erosion control on slopes. Fruits are quite small but very tasty and may be eaten fresh off the vine or cooked into a variety of dishes including pies and jams.

Ecological Benefits: Members of the genus Fragaria support the specialized bee Andrena melanochora with its flowers along with butterflies and other pollinators. Once the fruit is in bloom it continues to attract wildlife that like to eat the fruit. This species of Fragaria is also a larval host to the Gray Hair-streak butterfly.

Companion & Understudy Plants: If you are looking for companion plants to use as a native groundcover then ideal mates include Asarum canadense, Eurybia macrophylla, Carex pennsylvanica, carex vulpinoidea, Asclepias tuberosa, symphyotrichum ericoides and Eryngium yuccifolium.